JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson tried to speak to him in Spanish during his time at Manchester United.
Veron was Ferguson’s third most expensive signing ever after joining from Lazio in a £28.1 million deal in 2001.
But the Argentine lasted two seasons at Old Trafford before moving to Chelsea.
“I wasn’t the best student but I wanted to learn,” Veron told United Review.
“There were people in the dressing room who spoke Italian and Spanish. Mikael Silvestre spoke Italian, Laurent Blanc too.
“Quinton Fortune spoke Spanish, while Diego Forlan would arrive and he spoke Spanish.
And El Mister [Sir Alex Ferguson] tried to speak Spanish! People at Carrington always had a word for me in Spanish.”
Veron also revealed how he adjusted to life in England following his arrival from Serie A.
“We’d been happy living in Italy, but the people in Manchester helped us adjust.
“The best thing was the people, in the club, in the street. We lived in Hale. It was tranquil, there was a small forest nearby, and we liked it.
Roy Keane — the captain and a top player in a group where standards were high — lived near me.
“We adjusted to the weather, but not the food, that was more difficult. I couldn’t believe the meat people had for breakfast and eating your evening meal at 5pm was strange, but we found some nice restaurants.”
